


Out to Sea

by oh_so_shiny



Series: Cut & Run Zoofic AU [2]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, Sidewinder Series - Abigail Roux
Genre: Cut & Run Zoofic AU, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Zoofic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 01:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8307937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_so_shiny/pseuds/oh_so_shiny
Summary: Zoofic!  Nick is a zooman who lives alone on his boat and likes it that way.  Can an affable stowaway change his mind?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the idea of Zoofic. I'm pretty sure it started out with anax imperator, skydark, and velvet mace in the Fullmetal Alchemist fandom, but the concept was so great it stuck with me over the years. I mean, characters as breeds of humanoid animals? With fluffy ears and tails? Hell, yeah! So, anyway, here's my attempt at zoofic. I hope y'all enjoy.

The sun was just starting to wash the harbor in shades of pink and red when Nick dropped anchor on the Fiddler’s Green and stepped on deck to enjoy the view.  It was perfect weather for sailing – clear skies, calm seas.  Goddamn, but it felt unbelievably good to be back out on the water.   Stocking up on supplies had taken much longer than it should have, and the only good thing that could be said about his shopping trip into Boston proper was that he wouldn’t have to do it again for a couple of weeks.  Now that he was out at sea again, he could finally relax and let all of his tension wash away with the tide.

Nick quickly peeled off his t-shirt and dropped it on a deck chair.  The heat of the setting sun felt sinfully good against the iridescent scales on his bare back, so he extended his dorsal fin and groaned in genuine pleasure at the luxury.  He was normally prone to burns, but with the sun so low in the sky the only thing that he was in danger of was another freckle or twenty.

Nick looked down at his arms and sighed.  He just kept hoping all the damn freckles would merge into a tan, but it never happened.  He just ended up with more of the little fuckers.

After a moment of basking, Nick dug in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a half-smoked joint. Further exploration turned up a lighter, and he brought the blunt up to his mouth in a well-practiced motion and lit it, inhaling until the end glowed a bright cherry red.  The high rolled over him almost immediately, suffusing him with a sweet warmth.

Life was good.  Really good...  

So why did something feel out of whack?

Nick blew out a stream of smoke and frowned, rolling the joint between his webbed fingers.  It could have been the pot making him paranoid, but he didn’t think so.  The hairs on the back of his neck had been standing up since his jaunt into the city.  He felt eyes on him, and he didn’t like it one bit.  His dorsal fin trembled slightly.

“I like your scales,” said an unfamiliar voice.

Nick spun around, eyes immediately scanning the deck for the intruder.

Nothing.

“Up here.”

Lifting his head slowly toward the main mast, Nick couldn’t help but stare.

The creature hanging upside down by its legs from the boom was unquestionably not altogether human, possessing as it did a long, prehensile, red-ringed tail that had also wrapped itself around the boom.  Small, red, furry round ears poked out from sandy brown-blond hair.  Nick stared thoughtfully at the creature, watching it swing back and forth.  Then he stared at the spliff between his index finger and thumb.

Nick blinked once, slowly, before glancing back at the creature.  Nope, still there.

The creature grinned.  “Hey.  Whassup?”

After a moment, Nick took a deep breath of the salty sea air, hoping it would clear his head.  “Question?”

“Shoot.”

“What are you doing on my boat?”

The creature uncurled its – no, his tail (all of Nick's senses indicated that the creature was male) and in an admirable display of abdominal core strength, swung himself upward and flipped over neatly in a whirl of khakis and cotton.  He then proceeded to let go of the boom, dropping to his bare feet on the deck.  Nick raised an eyebrow, impressed despite himself.

The creature glanced around.  “Huh.  Is that where I am?  A ‘boat’?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”  The creature paused.  “What’s a boat?”

“In this case, it’s my house.”

“Your house?”

“Yeah.”

“No shit!” The creature hummed, rocking back on his heels.  “It’s very nice.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.  Hey, did you know your house is moving?”

“Well, yeah – it’s a boat.  It’s on the water.”  Nick held up the hand not holding the joint as the creature opened his mouth to speak.  “If you start asking me about water, I’m gonna call this entire conversation a vivid hallucination and turn in for the night.”

The creature cocked his head.  “Okay,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.  “House.  Boat.  Ixnay on the ater-way, gotcha.”

“Good,” Nick said shortly and nodded in satisfaction.  

After a long moment of silence, however, he sighed and crushed the joint out against the rail.  This strange – and flexible, Nick’s mind supplied before he could slam the lid down on the thought, compact, muscular and very flexible – creature was trespassing on his boat.  He didn’t need anything making the situation any weirder than it already was.  He brought a hand to the bridge of his nose.

“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” he asked, beginning to rub.  “Listen…”

“Kelly,” the creature supplied.

“Listen, Kelly-”

“Do you have a name too, or should I just call you the guy with the boat?” the creature asked suddenly.

Nick sighed and prayed for patience.  “I’m Nick.”

The creature-known-as-Kelly shot Nick a heart-stopping smile, and suddenly Nick was praying for patience of a different kind.  His dorsal gave a mild twitch.

“Nice to meet you, Nick,” Kelly said, holding out his hand.  

Kelly's eyes were the color of the sea.  Why hadn't he noticed that before?  

“Likewise,” Nick replied, pulse pounding in his ears as he reached for Kelly’s hand and shook it.  Kelly’s palm slid warmly against his own.  He could feel calluses on Kelly’s fingers, and he wondered briefly how those calluses would feel sliding over his scales before he carefully relinquished his grasp.  “So.  You do know what water is, right?”  

Kelly snorted.  “Of course I know what water is.  Water’s wet.”

“I guess that’s one way of describing it.”

“Good for splashing, drinking, bathing – stuff like that,” Kelly continued, and Nick watched, bemused, as Kelly stood on his toes and craned his neck to see over the side of the boat.  “Although I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen quite so much of it in one place.”

Nick had to laugh.  He couldn’t help it, the whole situation was surreal.  “Who are you, and where did you come from?” he finally asked, lips twitching into a reluctant grin.

Kelly’s eyes sparkled with mischief.  “I’m Kelly Abbott.  And I came from a box with holes in it.”

“A box with holes?” Nick’s mind raced.  “Breathing holes?  A shipping crate, you mean?”

“Yeah-huh.  At first I was in my enclosure, and my owner gave me pancakes, although they didn’t taste right but I still ate them because, wow, pancakes, you know?  But then I got really sleepy and when I woke up I was in the box and the box was on a truck.  And then we stopped and a man lifted me into the air with something called a fork lift, although it didn’t have anything to do with eating so that’s really kind of disappointing.  But the box slipped and fell, and a couple of boards came loose, so I-”

“Your ‘owner’?  What the hell-?”  

With a shake of the head, Nick cut himself off.  “No.  You know what?  Hold off on that.  Something tells me I’m gonna need a drink for this, and it’s almost dinner time anyway.”

Decision made, Nick headed below deck and gestured for Kelly to follow.  “How do you feel about pancakes with M&M’s?”  

Kelly’s tail thumped wildly against his leg.  “Sounds like a plan.”


End file.
